Right, today I decided to take a break from the 360, and picked up a nintendo wii..

I bought:Skyward SwordMario KartHarvest MoonAnimal Crossing

And I have it down to a few other games I want to get... I was wondering if this game is worth picking up, and are there any special things (features and such) this game has over others. I'm a big fan of rpgs and adventure games, so is this game worth picking up?

oni_heroThis game is a great time killer, but it doesn't have much of a story to follow I'm afraid... If that's all you were looking for this game really isn't for you. That being said, I didn't enjoy the game any less because of some lengthy dialogue missing, actually what dialogue there is, is pretty funny and well written especially from the moga chief. Here's something I remember him saying, "The smithy wants you to get iron ore? well you're gonna need a pickaxe for that. Your head's hard hunter but not hard enough to break rock..." something along those lines >.>.

With all you'll be doing you really won't need much of a story anyway. Here's a list of things to do in monster hunter: kill, capture, grind for parts(takes a long time), customize and prepare for the next big monster. this game doesn't progress you like other games(through levels) it allows you to progress when you want to by buying better armor/weapons bigger monsters suddenly become easier and easier relative to your skill with that weapon. Speaking of weapons, there's great swords, sword and shields, hammers, lances, longswords, and bowguns. each weapon type moves the same regardless, but they all move differently than each other. Typically you want to be efficient with at least two weapons. It's because they move/attack differently than each other, for example you don't want to use a slow weapon on a fast monster for obvious reasons.

The game consists of various regions in which you hunt, so the game doesn't get too stale. these regions are then divided into 'areas' which are separated by loading screens... yes you heard that there are a bunch of loading screens, but they didn't take away from the experience at all. In fact I barely noticed them until I saw a discussion about them here. Unlike in previous monster hunter games this game boast underwater battles where you fight in literal 360 against some pretty big monsters. Underwater is where people start to consider buying a classic controller for the game because of the wii moe terrible camera controls. with the classic controller you can use the right analogue stick to move the camera faster than the other hunter could with a wii moe. the same is true on land, and also every attack (for me) comes out faster than it would with the motion controls -_-'. I guess it's just a matter of opinion, I started out using the classic, so my opinion is obviously bias towards that controller type.

you'll spend around a hundred hours offline just to finish it since you're new. then you can come online and ease right into co-op play, where you can have up to four people per group to take down the same monster, but here's the catch: they're proportionally stronger than the one 's you'll face offline, and there's 3 new monsters that you can only face online. When you achieve a high enough rank you'll be able to upgrade your weapons/armor to their limits and have the upperhand on any offline monster. I can with one of the more powerful high rank weapons kill the first boss in 2-3 hits offline, and a friend of mine can just shoot it with his high grade bowgun one shot that rapids and it's dead . so yeah there's definitely, a lot that you can do in this game, and even though there's no story the commentary is still pretty funny at times especially your sidekick, and the village chief.

I'd also like to recommend a few more games:super smash bros. brawlbattalion wars 2this one is a gamecube game, but it's definitely one you should have:tales of symphonia

the one with dawn of the new world is the wii's sequel, and it's not something you can just jump into, but if you can find the first game by all means buy it! I played through that 4 or 5 times, it's not too great on the graphics, but the story is what counts with this one

I came in with the intention of a lengthy explanation, but I see I've been beaten to it. x3 I think given what you've said you'll thoroughly enjoy MH3; the environments are fantastic (limited in space to pockets titled areas, but still fantastic and they make the nice little effort of visually linking them all, if that makes sense) and you'll be spending hours upon hours just grinding to get the items you want or the Hunter Rank (your level system in this game) online. And speaking of, after putting a good load of hours into offline, going online will give you loads more and carries a huge replay value and appeal to it. You'll also find the community are a very nice bunch of people to game with.

To honest I was looking for a game that didn't have hour long cutscenes. Reading the explanation there I have a feeling I will be picking this game up really soon, it sounds exactly like I was hoping it would. Thanks wildfire & Dark Arcanine, really looking forward to picking this one up, and the fact that it is light on story makes it all the more likely I will enjoy it.

I tried to find Smash Brothers, but the two local game stores don't have any copies, they are shipping one in for me.

I don't know how much this will help you but I have over 1200 hours on this game. Honestly, everyone who I have introduced monster hunter, be it tri or unite, has loved it and still play to this day. I havent seend anyone yet tell me they don't like it, of course not counting those who haven't tried it first . Total thumbs up for harvest moon

-------------------Life is such a roller coaster then it drops. But what should I scream for? This is my theme park.

personally I like this game because of its vast customizing aspect. if you like to customize things, and like RPGs, then this is a good title for you. you spend a lot of time and effort getting parts to make equipment to make your character look and preform in many different ways.there is some strategy involved, the combat is based on timing and is in real-time (not turn based), so decent reflexes help in this game. It does actually require some skill, and you can get much better at it as you gain more experience.

the game is obviously not a very realistic hunting game lol. it has a lot of fantasy components to it. but depending on the type of RPGs you like, you may already think that sort of deal makes the game more fun to play.

that said, you can hunt the animals with all sorts of weapons. even a bowgun if you want to shoot things. do whatever you have to do to down your prey.

the online play is really the most fun you'll have. playing this sort of game with others (and there is always someone to play with, it still seems like a popular game! I just got it a few weeks ago and i always have others to play with) is a fun challenge on its own.

if you played games like world of warcraft and final fantasy and liked those, then you will like this game too. although I have never actually played WOW (some of my friends did though), i feel like MH3 has elements similar to both of those games.

yeah like newman said there's definitely learning curve involved when you start out, you definitely feel like a new up coming hunter in the world. The tutorial, if you could even call it that, doesn't cover everything in the game itself, and what it does cover is very brief,. It's basically designed to give the player the sense of discovery. You'll find plenty to do, and at first it seems overwhelming because unlike in other games all the features are there at the beginning, so there's nothing to unlock except the different hunting areas which in turn give the player the needed materials to make better equipment.

I don't know if you want a few tips, or if you just want to go into the game completely blind that's how I did it, and I enjoyed it that much more. I really had to learn how the game's played, and I really had to learn how to dodge a monster's attacks -_-' that dodge button is your closest friend. You'll fight a monsters so much trying to get your materials you'll learn the monster's attack patterns, and even the sounds they make before launching an attack. It makes me feel like a true hunter when I can determine what a monster's doing in another area. Like if a rathian shoots a fireball or tries to eat someone, it sounds the same no matter what.

also we mentioned this but this game is much more playable with the classic controller pro. i think that its a requirement to play this game. you'll have less controller frustrations if you use the classic one.